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V?/ 


BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE 
ATLANTIC  COAST. 


By  FREDERICK  J.  H.  MERRILL,  Ph.  D. 


REPRINTED  FROM  THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY 
FOR  OCTOBER,  1890. 


NEW  YORK: 
I).   AFPLETON    AND  COMPANY. 
1890. 


BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE 
ATLANTIC  COAST 


-L  barrier  beaches.  They  are  the  reefs  of  sand  which  protect 
the  mainland  shore  from  the  storm-waves  of  the  ocean.  Isolated 
and  uninhabited  were  most  of  these  sea-born  barriers  for  a  long 
period  in  the  history  of  our  country,  but  the  need  of  a  breathing- 
place  on  the  part  of  the  thousands  who  inhabit  our  crowded 
cities  has  caused,  within  a  few  years,  a  great  transformation. 
Railroad  and  turnpike  bridges  have  been  built,  connecting  many 
of  them  with  the  shore.  Hotels  and  cottages,  club-houses  and 
bathing-houses,  in  short,  buildings  for  every  purpose  which  con- 
tributes to  the  pleasure  and  comfort  of  man  have  sprung  up,  as 
it  were  by  magic,  on  the  south  shore  of  Long  Island,  on  the  coast 


BY 


FREDERICK  J.  H.  MERRILL,  Ph.D. 


our  coast  is  fringed  with 


2      BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 


of  New  Jersey,  Virginia,  and  the  Carolinas,  on  the  famed  sea- 
islands  of  Georgia,  and  on  the  coast  of  eastern  Florida. 

Much  alike  are  these  peninsulas  and  islands  wherever  we  view 
them  along  the  coast.  The  chief  variation  is  in  the  vegetation 
which  clothes  them.  The  beaches  of  Long  Island  are  almost 
barren,  but  from  New  Jersey  southward  many  are  covered  with 
dense  forests  which  vary  in  their  trees  according  to  the  latitude. 
At  Sandy  Hook,  oaks,  red  cedars,  hollies,  maples,  and  sassafras- 
trees  grow  in  wonderful  luxuriance.  On  Seven-Mile  Beach  and 
Holly  Beach  the  swamp  magnolia  abounds  among  the  others. 
In  the  Carolinas  the  palmetto  appears,  often  ragged  in  outline 
and  blighted  by  the  winter  frosts.  In  northern  Florida  the  pal- 
mettos are  more  numerous  and  show  the  influence  of  a  warmer 
climate,  while  on  the  southern  extremity  of  the  zone  of  barrier 
beaches  the  cocoanut  palm,  planted  by  accident  or  design,  rears 
its  leafy  crown  in  luxuriant  verdure. 

It  is  not  the  design  of  the  writer  to  describe  in  detail  the 
beaches  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  rather  to  consider  their  history 
and  mode  of  growth.  As  it  has  been  his  fortune  to  spend  much"' 
time  on  the  sea-shore  of  New  Jersey,  he  proposes  to  discuss  the 
barrier  beaches  of  that  State  as  types  of  their  genus. 

They  are  sandy  islands  and  peninsulas,  from  two  to  twenty 
miles  in  length  and  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width,  separated 
by  inlets  and  usually  divided  from  the  mainland  by  an  interval 
of  several  miles,  in  which  are  broad  expanses  of  salt  meadow, 
fringing  and  separating  a  series  of  channels,  bays,  and  sounds. 

The  beaches  which  are  now  in  their  highest  state  of  develop- 
ment are  Sandy  Hook,  Seven-Mile  Beach,  and  Holly  Beach  near 
Cape  May.  These  typical  examples  of  the  sea-born  barriers  are 
much  alike  in  structure,  and  consist  of  four  principal  divisions. 
The  first  division,  or  interior,  is  an  undulating  area  covered  with 
heavy  timber,  of  which  the  size  suggests  its  age.  Immense  hollies, 
oaks,  pines,  and  red  cedars  abound,  many  of  the  first  measuring 
two  feet  in  diameter,  and  some  of  the  latter  attaining  a  circum- 
ference of  four  or  five  yards.  The  sassafras  grows  in  remarkable 
luxuriance  and  immense  grape-vines  are  everywhere  to  be  seen, 
overhanging  a  dense  undergrowth.  In  spring  and  summer  the 
ground  is  covered  with  fragrant  blossoms ;  columbines,  violets, 
pinks,  orchids,  and  a  host  of  other  flowers  lend  their  bright  colors 
to  enhance  the  varied  greens  of  the  foliage.  This  is  the  beach 
primeval.  Skirting  it  seaward  is  the  second  division,  which  bears 
smaller  timber.  Low  cedars,  hollies,  and  pines  are  here  the  chief 
forms  of  arboreal  vegetation,  and  fewer  flowering  plants  are  seen. 
This  zone  is  of  later  formation,  and  its  trees  are  younger  than 
those  of  the  first.  Adjoining  it  is  the  third  division,  which  con- 
sists of  a  belt  of  undulating  dunes  a  few  hundred  feet  or  yards 

vol.  xxxvn. — 53 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY. 


3 


in  width,  and  bearing  the  mossy  Hudsonia  or  scrubby  bushes  of 
beach  plum  and  wax-myrtle,  or  in  some  places,  especially  on  the 
outer  row  of  dunes,  only  supporting  a  meager  growth  of  beach 
grass.  Frequently,  between  two  rows  of  dunes,  an  expanse  of 
salt  meadow  occurs,  or  a  sand  flat  bearing  stunted  forms  of 
plant  life.  With  this  third  division  ends  the  domain  of  vegeta- 
tion, succeeded  by  the  sloping  strand  upon  which  the  tide  rises 
and  falls.  The  sand-bar,  exposed  at  low  water  at  the  extremity 
of  the  beach,  is  constantly  increased  in  length  and  height  by  the 
action  of  the  currents,  and  the  process  of  beach  formation  is 
here  continually  in  progress. 

As  the  tide  falls,  the  sand  laid  bare  is  rapidly  dried  by  the 
wind  and  carried  above  high-water  mark.  Then,  safe  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  waves,  the  minute  particles  are  borne  still  farther 
from  the  water,  and  striking  against  some  piece  of  drift-wood, 
bush,  or  tuft  of  grass,  quickly  build  a  hillock,  which  grows  larger 
and  larger  as  more  sand  falls  upon  it,  and  a  dune  is  formed  many 
feet  in  height.  The  material  of  which  these  dunes  are  composed 
is  never  at  rest,  but  flies  hither  and  thither  with  the  wind,  and  a 
hillock  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high  to-day  may  noiselessly  be  taken 
down  to-morrow  and  rebuilt  a  hundred  yards  away.  In  time,  as  the 
beach  grows  seaward  and  the  dunes  increase  in  number,  those  of 
earlier  formation,  which  are  somewhat  protected  from  the  breeze, 
catch  a  few  seeds,  and  tufts  of  grass  begin  to  grow  upon  them. 
Still  later,  the  mossy  Hudsonia  or  some  starveling  wax-myrtle 
finds  a  little  sustenance,  and  as  years  elapse  the  dunes  become  so 
thickly  covered  with  vegetation  that  under  the  protection  of  the 
seaward  hillocks  they  retain  their  form  with  comparatively  little 
change. 

Thus  have  the  beaches  grown.  First  a  sand  flat  built  by  ocean 
waves  and  currents;  then  a  series  of  low,  shifting  dunes;  next 
sheltered  hillocks,  on  which  grasses  and  shrubs  fasten  their  pro- 
tecting roots ;  succeeding  the  latter  a  growth  of  small  cedars  and 
pines ;  and,  finally,  as  centuries  roll  on,  majestic  forest  trees  raise 
their  spreading  tops  and  shelter  a  dense  undergrowth. 

These  few  words  suffice  to  describe  the  beaches'  growth,  their 
physiology ;  but  many  pages  might  be  written  upon  their  history, 
the  details  of  their  development,  their  changes  and  their  decay. 
Unfortunately,  the  records  are  but  incomplete.  From  the  memo- 
ries of  old  men  we  can  glean  some  facts  in  regard  to  the  former 
condition  and  extent  of  certain  beaches  and  concerning  marked 
changes  in  them  which  have  been  notable  events  to  men  of  quiet 
lives.  In  a  few  instances,  surveys  were  made  a  century  or  two 
ago  which  can  be  compared  with  those  of  to-day.  At  present  we 
can  watch  the  changes  which  occur  from  year  to  year.  As  geo- 
logical science  advances  we  can  speculate  concerning  the  past  on 


4      BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 


the  basis  of  present  knowledge  and  observation.  We  have  little 
accurate  information,  but,  after  all,  we  have  much  that  is  inter- 
esting. 

The  beach  of  Sandy  Hook  forms  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
New  Jersey  sea-coast.  Previous  to  1778  it  was  connected  with 
the  base  of  the  Navesink  Highlands  by  a  sandy  isthmus,  the 
mouths  of  the  Navesink  and  Shrewsbury  Rivers  being  open  to 
the  east ;  but  from  that  date  until  about  1830,  and  from  1848  until 
1889,  it  has  been  united  with  the  mainland  at  Monmouth  Beach 
by  a  narrow  strip  of  sand. 

According  to  records  in  the  office  of  the  Surveyor-General  of 
East  Jersey  and  in  that  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  the 
point  of  Sandy  Hook  advanced  northward  about  one  mile  between 
1685  and  1885.  The  lighthouse  was  built  about  1764  near  the  wa- 
ter's edge,  and  the  ground  on  which  it  stands  had  then  existed  for 
only  fifteen  years  as  a  portion  of  terra  firma. 

In  1844  the  point  was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  north 
of  its  present  limit.  Since  that  date  it  has  receded  slowly  toward 
the  south,  and  toward  the  west  has  extended  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
We  have  no  evidence  concerning  the  date  of  formation  of  the  old 
"Hook"  which  existed  before  1685.  It  is  now  well  marked  by 
immense  forest  trees,  which  exceed  in  height  and  size  of  trunk 
any  of  their  species  known  to  the  writer  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  York. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Sandy  Hook  is  due  to  a  current  which 
flows  northward  from  the  vicinity  of  Manasquan,  carrying  with 
it  a  great  quantity  of  sand  removed  from  the  water  front  of  As- 
bury  Park,  Long  Branch,  Seabright,  and  that  vicinity,  which  is 
dropped  along  the  border  of  the  "  Hook 99  and  its  extremity.  The 
investigations  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey 
have  shown  that  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides  from  and  to  New 
York  Bay  produce  this  current  by  drawing  a  stream  of  water 
through  False  Hook  Channel,  which  lies  between  Sandy  Hook 
and  a  submerged  bar  called  False  Hook  half  a  mile  to  the  east. 
The  stream  flows  northward  more  than  seven  hours  out  of  twelve, 
and  from  this  fact  property-owners  in  the  neighborhood  of  Long 
Branch  may  appreciate  what  becomes  of  their  real  estate  when  it 
disappears  during  the  storms.  If  there  were  any  means  of  iden- 
tifying the  soil,  it  might  all  be  found  on  the  rapidly  growing 
point  of  Sandy  Hook. 

About  1778  a  channel  was  opened  across  the  narrow  isthmus 
which  united  Sandy  Hook  with  the  base  of  the  Navesink  High- 
lands, and  a  new  passage  being  thus  afforded  for  the  tidal  cur- 
rents of  the  Navesink  and  Shrewsbury  Rivers,  the  old  Shrewsbury 
Inlet,  which  formed  the  common  mouth  of  those  two  estuaries, 
was  gradually  closed  by  the  northward  extension  of  the  sand-spit 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY. 


S 


which  formed  the  southern  limit,  and  in  1810  became  impassable. 
The  barrier  thus  formed  existed  until  1830  or  1831,  when  it  was 
broken  through  and  a  second  inlet  was  created.  By  a  change  in 
the  tidal  currents,  due  to  the  formation  of  this  new  inlet,  the  isth- 
mus which  formerly  connected  Sandy  Hook  with  the  Highlands 
of  Navesink  was  again  brought  into  existence  and  remained  until 
1835.  An  artificial  channel  was  then  cut  through  it,  and  this  be- 
ing gradually  deepened  and  widened  by  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
tides,  has  ever  since  remained  open.  The  second  Shrewsbury 
inlet  closed  in  1840  near  Island  Beach,  having  moved  northward 
nearly  three  miles  during  its  existence  of  nine  or  ten  years.  In 
1837  or  1838  the  third  and  last  inlet  opened  near  the  present  Belle- 
vue  Hotel,  and  afforded  a  better  channel  for  navigation  than 
the  second  inlet,  which  it  followed  in  its  northward  course  and 
survived  by  about  eight  years.  From  1848  until  September,  1889, 
no  inlet  has  been  opened  ;  but  this  fact  is  due  rather  to  the  efforts 
of  the  railroad  company  to  maintain  its  road-bed  than  to  a  dimi- 
nution of  the  tendency  of  the  waves  and  tidal  currents  to  open  a 
passage. 

The  facts  and  dates  concerning  the  Shrewsbury  Inlets  have 
been  obtained  chiefly  by  inquiry  from  old  fishermen  and  sailors 
who  have  spent  their  lives  on  or  near  the  waters  of  the  Navesink 
and  Shrewsbury  Rivers.  Coming  from  a  number  of  independent 
sources,  they  agree  very  closely,  and  those  here  given  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  worthy  of  credence.  The  tendency  of  the  inlets  to  work 
northward,  periodically  closing  and  reopening  farther  south,  has 
been  observed  in  all  those  between  Point  Pleasant  and  Sandy 
Hook,  especially  in  those  of  Manasquan  and  Shark  Rivers.  Be- 
tween Point  Pleasant  and  Cape  May,  however,  all  the  inlets  are 
moving  southward. 

From  Monmouth  to  the  head  of  Barnegat  Bay  there  is  no  beach 
similar  to  that  of  Sandy  Hook.  Instead  of  a  sand-reef  separated 
from  the  main  land  by  a  navigable  channel,  there  is  only  the  slop- 
ing strand  adjoining,  as  at  Long  Branch,  the  foot  of  an  upland 
bluff,  or  as  at  Spring  Lake,  Seagirt,  and  Point  Pleasant,  with  its 
crest  on  a  level  with  the  surface  of  the  upland.  Between  Bay 
Head  and  Cape  May,  however,  there  are  twelve  beaches,  mostly 
well  developed  and  preserved,  and  named  respectively  Squan, 
Island,  Long,  Island  or  Little,  Brigantine,  Absecon,  Peck's,  Lud- 
lam's,  Seven  Mile,  Five  Mile  or  Holly,  Two  Mile,  and  Poverty. 
The  majority  of  these,  however,  do  not  show  the  high  degree 
of  development  exhibited  by  Seven-Mile  and  Five-Mile  Beaches. 
Some  appear  to  be  only  in  the  earlier  stages  of  growth,  while 
.  others  have  passed  their  prime  and  are  now  yielding  to  the  at- 
tacks of  wind  and  wave. 

These  agents  have  been  hitherto  considered  only  with  reference 


6     BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 


to  their  constructive  effect  on  the  beaches,  and  it  now  remains  to 
consider  their  destructive  action. 

When  the  wind  blows  from  the  west  it  carries  back  to  the  sea 
much  of  the  sand  which  the  east  wind  had  piled  up  in  dunes,  and, 
but  for  the  fact  that  the  latter  wind  prevails,  the  sand-hills  would 
not  long  exist.  By  a  surplus  of  constructive  action,  however,  the 
beaches  are  all  moving  to  the  west.  Year  after  year  sand  is  re- 
moved from  their  eastern  margin  by  the  winter  storms,  and  car- 
ried north  or  south  according  to  the  direction  of  the  prevailing 
current.  The  winds  from  the  ocean  drive  the  dunes  westward, 
and,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Sandy  Hook,  all  the  beaches 
are  now  underlaid  by  an  old  salt  meadow,  originally  formed  in 
sheltered  waters  on  their  west  side.  In  this  turf,  when  exposed 
during  an  unusually  low  tide,  the  footprints  of  cattle  are  seen  in 
many  places,  made,  it  is  claimed,  when  the  salt  meadow  was  a 
pasture  and  lay  on  the  shoreward  side  of  the  beach.  This  west- 
ward recession  has,  in  many  cases,  amounted  to  more  than  a  mile 
within  two  centuries. 

On  many  of  the  beaches  south  of  Point  Pleasant  the  westward 
progress  of  the  dunes  has  been  made  over  and  through  the  native 
forest.  As  a  result  of  this,  gnarled  cedars,  dying  and  dead,  are 
found  among  the  dunes  ;  and  in  many  cases  stumps  may  be  seen 
in  the  sand  within  reach  of  the  tide. 

Near  the  northern  end  of  Seven-Mile  Beach,  at  the  time  of  the 
writer's  visit  in  1885,  an  immense  dune  forty  feet  in  height  and 
half  a  mile  in  length  had  been  for  many  years  encroaching  stead- 
ily upon  the  dense  forest.  The  tree-tops  here  projected  above  the 
summit  of  the  ridge  like  the  heads  of  drowning  men  above  the 
waves;  while  on  the  outer  flank  of  the  overwhelming  mass  of  sand 
the  gnarled,  skeleton  trunks  of  those  which  had  perished  in  it 
stood  bare  and  grim,  showing  with  dreary  grayness  the  fate  of 
the  earlier  victims  of  which  the  ragged  and  wave-worn  stumps 
alone  remained.  A  more  desolate  scene  the  writer  has  never  wit- 
nessed. 

At  Long  Branch  the  wear  of  the  coast  has  been  very  great. 
According  to  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  a 
strip  of  land  varying  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
width  was  removed  between  Deal  Beach  and  Monmouth  during  the 
twenty-seven  years  preceding  1868.  In  the  vicinity  of  Seabright 
the  amount  of  wear  was  a  little  less  than  two  hundred  feet  during 
that  period.  Of  late  years  the  rate  of  recession  has  been  dimin- 
ished in  the  neighborhood  of  Long  Branch  by  the  means  of  arti- 
ficial protection  employed,  but  near  Seabright  the  shore  line  is 
said  to  have  receded  at  least  two  hundred  feet  during  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century.  At  Cape  May  the  wear  of  the  shore  has 
been  continuous  except  where  the  land  is  protected  by  jetties  or 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY.  7 


a  stone  sea-wall,  the  rate  of  encroachment  varying  from  ten  to 
thirty  feet  a  year. 

Besides  these  alterations  produced  in  the  beaches  by  their 
westward  progress,  the  variations  in  the  positions  of  the  inlets 
and  the  subsidence  of  the  coast  have  caused  many  important 
changes.  The  history  of  the  Shrewsbury  Inlets  has  already  been 
given  ;  it  remains  to  mention  a  few  of  those  south  of  Point 
Pleasant. 

Squan  and  Island  Beaches,  which  now  form  a  peninsula  about 
twenty  miles  long,  terminating  at  Barnegat  Inlet,  were  separated 
from  1750  to  1812  by  Cranberry  Inlet,  which  was  nearly  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Tom's  River.  Since  1812  near  the  site  of  this  old 
inlet  there  have  been  others  of  brief  duration,  and  one  is  said 
to  have  existed  before  1755  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Metede- 
conk  River,  which  separated  Squan  Beach  from  the  mainland. 

The  old  Barnegat  Lighthouse  is  said  to  have  stood  nearly  six 
hundred  yards  north  of  the  present  south  shore  of  the  inlet,  at  a 
point  now  occupied  by  the  center  of  the  channel.  In  1855  the 
old  tower  was  at  the  water's  edge,  so  that  the  inlet  has  moved 
southward  approximately  twenty  yards  per  year. 

Absecon  Inlet,  which  separates  Brigantine  Beach  from  Abse- 
con  Beach,  has  encroached  upon  the  latter  about  four  hundred 
yards  in  twenty  years ;  and  the  ocean  front  of  that  portion  of  Ab- 
secon Beach  which  is  occupied  by  Atlantic  City  extended  in  1855 
nearly  half  a  mile  farther  east  than  it  did  in  1885.  About  1875 
jetties  were  built  which  arrested  the  action  of  the  tidal  currents, 
and,  the  wear  of  the  shore  being  thus  prevented,  a  considerable 
area  was  restored. 

Submerged  tree-stumps  and  other  evidences  of  a  subsidence  of 
the  coast  may  be  found  on  the  beaches  and  the  salt  meadows,  but 
a  detailed  enumeration  of  them  would  be  beyond  the  scope  of  the 
present  article. 

In  Cape  May  County  the  depression  has  not  been  less  than 
twenty  feet,  and  has  possibly  been  much  greater.  The  evidence 
of  some  old  buildings  on  the  shore  of  Delaware  Bay  suggests  a 
subsidence  of  about  four  feet  during  the  last  two  centuries. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  depression  alone  has  caused  the  wear  of 
the  coast.  A  comparison  of  the  present  outline  of  Holly  Beach 
with  that  determined  by  a  survey  in  1772  shows  an  accretion  on 
the  south  and  east,  since  the  latter  date,  more  than  three  and  a 
half  miles  long  and  averaging  three  eighths  of  a  mile  in  width, 
and  on  many  other  beaches  a  similar  growth  has  taken  place. 
During  the  past  five  years  the  ocean  has  rapidly  encroached  upon 
these  beaches,  while  the  subsidence  of  the  coast,  so  far  as  we 
know,  has  been  uniform  throughout  the  past  two  centuries.  It 
would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  growth  and  decay  of  the  beaches 


3      BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 


are  more  dependent  upon  the  action  of  the  ocean  currents  and 
winds  than  upon  other  agencies.  Unquestionably  the  depression 
of  the  coast  renders  the  beaches  more  subject  to  overflow  and 
erosion  by  the  waves  and  currents;  but  the  evidence  at  many 
points  shows  that  the  latter  are  capable  of  forming  large  areas  of 
beach  where  the  conditions  of  their  existence  and  action  favor 
construction  rather  than  destruction.  While  these  currents  act 
as  at  present,  the  cost  of  preventing  the  ravages  of  the  sea,  by 
the  methods  commonly  in  use,  would  probably  be  much  greater 
than  the  value  of  the  land  protected,  for  the  fine  sand  is  so 
unstable  when  wet  that  bulkheads  and  breakwaters  are  quite 
ephemeral. 

After  an  extended  examination  of  the  various  systems  of  shore 
defense  in  use  between  Sandy  Hook  and  Cape  May,  it  appears  to 
the  writer  that  the  only  effectual  means  of  protection  is  the  con- 
struction of  jetties  extending  far  enough  from  the  shore  to  inter- 
cept the  currents  which  carry  away  the  sand  loosened  by  the 
waves.  Such  jetties  have  added  a  large  area  to  the  territory  of 
Atlantic  City,  and  have  protected  the  shore  at  Cape  May ;  no 
doubt  they  would  be  effective  everywhere  if  properly  constructed. 

The  experience  of  the  past  ten  years  on  the  New  Jersey  coast 
shows  conclusively  that  the  ocean  front  is  not  fit  for  building  pur- 
poses, for  it  is  impossible  to  protect  a  house  near  the  water's  edge 
from  injury  or  destruction  in  the  heaviest  storms.  The  height 
and  force  of  the  waves  in  such  a  tempest  as  that  of  September  10 
and  11,  1889,  render  them  irresistible  to  any  body  or  structure 
which  nature  or  art  has  yet  produced,  and  anything  within  their 
reach  must  suffer.  The  immediate  water-front  is  only  available 
for  parks ;  and,  if  devoted  to  this  use,  when  protected  from  the 
erosive  action  of  the  currents  by  suitable  jetties,  would  remain  a 
neutral  ground  which,  in  fair  weather,  would  afford  numberless 
attractions  to  the  occupants  of  dwellings  placed  far  enough  from 
the  strand  to  be  out  of  reach  of  the  storm-waves. 

Property-owners  along  the  ocean  front  of  the  beaches  have 
generally  made  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  the  domain  of  the 
Atlantic  was  bounded  by  the  high-water  mark  of  the  spring  tides. 
Any  one  who  should  build  a  dwelling  on  the  strand  below  ordi- 
nary high-water  mark  would  be  considered  lacking  in  common 
sense,  yet  it  is  scarcely  less  foolish  to  build  within  reach  of  the 
storm- waves.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that  many  cottages  are  now 
much  nearer  the  water's  edge  than  they  were  a  few  years  ago. 
This  is  due  to  the  wear  of  the  shore  by  currents  already  described 
as  flowing  parallel  to  it  and  removing  the  sand  which  the  waves 
have  loosened.  If  the  action  of  these  currents  should  be  stopped 
— and  there  is  good  evidence  to  show  that  a  system  of  jetties 
would  intercept  them  and  cause  them  to  drop  their  stolen  load  of 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY. 


9 


sand — the  wear  of  the  shore  would  be  arrested  and  the  yearly  en- 
croachments of  the  ocean  would  cease. 

With  regard  to  the  inundation  of  Atlantic  City  by  the  sea  in 
the  great  September  storm  of  1889  it  should  be  said  that  this 
catastrophe  ought  not  to  be  considered  very  wonderful,  since  the 
greater  portion  of  the  city  is  less  than  ten  feet  above  mean  tide, 
and  the  highest  point  recorded  by  the  New  Jersey  State  Survey 
is  only  thirteen  feet  above  that  level.  As  ordinary  tides  rise  a 
foot  above  this  plane,  and  spring  tides  nearly  two  feet,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  a  prolonged  easterly  storm  would  soon  cause  a  consider- 
able area  to  be  overflowed.  Since  the  bays  and  channels  which 
lie  between  the  beach  and  the  mainland  are  almost  completely 
landlocked  and  the  inlets  are  relatively  narrow,  the  water-level  is 
soon  raised  to  a  height  of  two  or  three  feet  above  the  meadows, 
and  this  is  sufficient  to  cover  most  of  the  railroad  tracks.  To  be 
sure,  no  such  inundation  as  the  recent  one  has  occurred  since  At- 
lantic City  became  a  place  of  importance,  nor  do  the  old  residents 
on  the  coast  remember  such  a  storm  in  former  years ;  but  it  is 
evident  that,  while  the  beaches  were  uninhabited,  such  a  storm  as 
the  one  in  question  would  attract  less  attention,  since  it  would 
cause  little  if  any  loss  of  property. 

The  genesis  of  the  beaches  is  still  a  matter  for  speculation,  but 
it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  they  originated  as  sand-bars,  formed 
under  water  by  wave  and  current  action.  How  these  bars  were 
brought  above  water,  so  that  the  wind  could  exert  its  constructive 
power,  is  uncertain.  A  plausible  hypothesis  is,  that  while  the 
ocean  was  breaking  on  the  mainland  shore  and  forming  the 
Quaternary  terraces,  which  may  be  seen  there,  sand-bars  were 
made  under  water,  and  that  the  continental  elevation  which  raised 
these  terraces  to  their  present  position  from  twenty-five  to  eighty 
feet  above  tide,  brought  these  sand-bars  above  water  into  a  hori- 
zon of  iEolian  action.  Once  above  the  sea,  the  beaches  would 
maintain  their  existence.  A  continued  elevation  of  the  coast 
would  add  to  their  seaward  extent  and  a  depression  would  cause 
a  westward  recession  until  they  were  brought  to  rest  by  contact 
with  the  mainland  shore.  In  New  Jersey  the  latter  condition 
may  be  observed  between  Long  Branch  and  Point  Pleasant  and 
also  at  Cape  May. 

So  far  as  it  is  known  to  the  writer,  the  only  way  in  which  a 
beach  can  be  entirely  destroyed  is  by  an  inlet  shifting  its  position. 
In  this  case  the  beach  obliterated  is  replaced  by  the  extension  of 
an  adjacent  beach. 

Of  the  beaches  south  of  New  Jersey  not  enough  is  known  to  the 
writer  to  permit  of  a  detailed  biographical  sketch.  Their  form  and 
structure  show  that  they  have  been  subject  to  the  same  formative 
agencies  and  vicissitudes  as  those  already  described.    In  addition 


io    BARRIER  BEACHES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 


to  the  Georgia  sea-islands  of  ante-bellum  fame,  may  be  mentioned 
as  familiar  examples  the  barriers  which  in  Virginia  and  North  Car- 
olina separate  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  Sounds  from  the  ocean ;  in 
Florida,  Amelia  Island  on  which  is  built  the  city  of  Fernandina ; 
Anastasia  Island,  in  front  of  St.  Augustine ;  and  the  beaches  which 
separate  Halifax  and  Indian  Rivers  from  the  Atlantic.  The  last- 
named  rivers  are  the  lagoons  which  separate  the  barriers  from  the 
mainland  shore.  Lake  Worth  is  one  of  these  lagoons,  of  which 
the  inlet  has  been  closed. 

To  what  extent  the  Florida  Keys  may  be  included  in  the  cate- 
gory of  barrier  beaches  must  be  decided  by  future  investigation. 
Key  West  is  evidently  a  wave-built  sand-bar  composed  of  frag- 
ments of  coral,  molluscan  shells,  and  foraminifera,  and  it  seems 
likely  that  Cayo  Largo  and  others  of  that  type  may  be  of  similar 
origin.  The  coquina  deposits  of  the  vicinity  of  St.  Augustine  are 
also  wave-formed. 

The  hypothesis  of  Prof.  Louis  Agassiz,  that  the  Florida  Keys 
are  all  of  organic  origin — i.  e.,  that  they  were  formed  by  the  growth 
of  coral  reefs — may  be  true  so  far  as  the  determination  of  their 
location  and  direction.  A  submerged  reef  of  coral  may  have 
formed  a  nucleus  on  which  the  waves  and  currents  deposited  a 
load  of  calcareous  sand,. but  the  superficial  portion  is  evidently 
similar  in  origin  to  that  of  the  beaches  farther  north. 

Barrier  beaches  are  found  on  all  the  sea-coasts  of  the  world 
where  opportunity  for  their  growth  has  been  afforded,  and  those 
of  New  Jersey  may  be  regarded  as  types  of  these  formations  in  all 
their  essential  features. 


